In the Absence of Their Hero
by Orange Headphones
Summary: When Link is struck with a mysterious illness, it is up to Zelda to try and fend off Ganondorf while Link tries to recover.
1. Link's Circumstances

Link woke up that morning, not feeling like himself. He felt very weak, with a fiery burning in his head. Before he could even take three steps, in an attempt to struggle through this weakness and pain, he collapsed on the cold stone floor. Something was definitely not right with him, something unnatural.

A few hours had passed before anyone knew what had happened to Link. The first one to see him was Zelda, lollygagging her way through the halls of the castle. Upon seeing Link, her expression turned to one of alarm, Link was never this way. He was the epitome of the persevering hero. She immediately threw herself at him, hoping to find out what was wrong, very concerned with his well-being.

Nervous, she asked him, "Link, what's wrong?"

When she failed to get a response out of him, she shook him, worriedly calling out "Link! Link! Link, please answer me!"

Soon enough, he had regained his consciousness, though barely. He weakly responded, "Hey, Zelda," in a weak attempt to pretend that everything was just fine.

"Link," she said, "what's wrong?"

Painfully he stated, "It burns," finally admitting that he wasn't himself.

More worried than before she asked, "What burns? What happened?"

With the last of his consciousness, he told her, "I don't quite know what happened. Give me time and it will pass." And with that, Link was reduced to a state little more than excruciating sleep, not fitting for a hero of his caliber.

At this, Zelda cried, the hero shouldn't have to have this happen to him. The devoted princess stayed by her hero's side, hoping to help him in whatever way she could, but his eyes wouldn't open. He breathed painfully, but he breathed nonetheless.

From a distance, Ganondorf saw his curse was in effect, giving him the perfect opportunity to take over Hyrule. Smirking, he slipped away in the shadows to his fortress, chuckling to himself. With a little luck, he believed that Link would soon perish and finally be out of his way.

Every night and every day Zelda stayed watching over Link, making sure she never left his side, nothing could happen to him on her watch. It certainly was a change from how it had always been: Link watching over Zelda. Nonetheless, she wouldn't leave her hero alone; it just wasn't worth it to leave him alone.

Over the next few weeks, Link had not regained his consciousness, while Zelda did anything she could to get the hero out of this situation, anything. However, he had made some progress in this time; his breathing was no longer painful and the fiery burning had subsided slightly.

A few days afterwards, Link finally spoke again. Though he was still weak, he had some consciousness. "Zelda," he called out in an almost inaudible tone.

The princess, still waiting by her hero's side, said to him in return, "Yes Link?"

"Zelda," he began, "I have something to tell you. Ganondorf is on his way. You're going to have to fight him without my help this time. He will be almost impossible to defeat, so you'll have to come up with something good."

To this the princess responded, "I can't Link. I won't leave your side; you need the help and you know it."

Fading, he said, "You have to do this Zelda. You can do it without me. If I can…" It was then that the hero lost his energy completely, back to his undesirable sleep, the accursed submission to his weakness.

In her mind, every word Link said was vital and worthy. If he believed in her, then she would do it for him. He was her hero, and faith from a hero was reward enough to attempt to succeed against the evils of the land. He was Ganondorf, he had been defeated before and he would be defeated yet again.

Zelda gathered the Hylian army to subdue Ganondorf in his charge for the castle. The band of Ganondorf's minions was the standard: stalfos, moblins, etc. At first the Hylians were able to subdue and succeed in battle against these foes. However, one thing changed the flow of battle for them. Suddenly, the fallen monsters returned with more strength than they had before, as Ganondorf would not easily let his limited minions be vanquished so easily.

The soldiers, caring for Zelda, told her to take Link and retreat to another location, quickly, realizing that that new twist could only spell defeat for the Hylian army. Obeying their advice, Zelda gathered the ailing Link and took him to the forest, his old home.

After setting Link back down on his bed in his house, she pounded the floor in frustration. She thought, frustrated, 'Why couldn't I do it? So what if he's Ganondorf? Before he's been beaten; now he's weakened and I still can't seem to beat him. Why? Why? Why?'


	2. The Other Sages

Peering in out of curiosity to the pounding, Saria entered the tree-home of Link, considering it had been nearly a year since anyone lived in that place. When she caught sight of the scene in front of her, she was taken aback; Zelda hadn't been here before. The only way that Saria knew her was because the two of them were both guardians of the land of Hyrule.

Politely as she could, Saria asked Zelda, "Um, what are you doing here of all places?"

At the sound of another voice, Zelda shook off the confusion about her and responded, somewhat disappointed, "I brought Link back. He's not feeling too well, not well at all."

The young Kokiri bore a shocked expression on her face. Slightly scared, she asked, "What happened to him?"

Zelda, having regained her former composure, responded to Saria, "I don't know what happened to him either. One day I just found him collapsed on the ground. He warned me of Ganondorf's charge to the castle. However, the army couldn't subdue his monsters. They just came back stronger after they were defeated, and that's when the army told me to bring him here. Saria, how can we defeat him without Link? He's the only one who's ever defeated Ganondorf, in any form."

The forest girl told the princess, "I don't quite know how we can do it, but this I do know: Ganondorf must be stopped. What we've got to do at the moment is keep the faith; he's got to have some kind of weakness."

The princess responded, "You're right Saria, he can be stopped. It's all a matter of how. Do you think that some of the other sages might be of some help to us?"

"You know, it just might work. But there's only one problem with an idea like that."

Zelda, suddenly oblivious of who she dragged in the room with her, asked, "What's that?" Realizing her mistake not two seconds later, Zelda said, "Right. I think for the moment we can put a sages' shield around him."

Saria, quite confused, asked Zelda, "What?"

"A Sages' Shield is a barrier with sage magic, like the sages' shield surrounding the Temple of Time. It will be weak at the moment, but with two sages powering the shield, Link will, at the very least, be undetectable by Triforce energy. With at least five sages, this shield will protect Link from all but Ganondorf himself. If we get all seven of us to put the shield up around Link, he will be safe until he is released."

The forest girl nodded in agreement; "Let's do it."

After placing the small shield over Link, Zelda and Saria asked the Kokiri to watch over the body of the unconscious Link, knowing whatever they could do to aid the sleeping hero would only be for the benefit of their land of Hyrule. Without a second thought to the consequences, they sped ahead to find the closest sage.

It was much too dangerous to travel by foot through Hyrule Field, for wherever Ganondorf likely was could only mean the end for these sages. With two barriers successfully in place, the girl of forest green and the girl of royal blood knew that the best way to travel would be to use the Lost Woods secret passages for now. If they tried to warp now, Ganondorf would likely sense the sounds of either the ocarina or the harp. Nonetheless, the two of them traveled into the Lost Woods, searching for a way out.

The Lost Woods, while often a tricky place to navigate for an outsider or a person new to its surroundings, was no challenge to one such as Saria who more or less spent all day there in her sanctuary. Quickly she navigated to the first warping zone, no longer covered with its large stone because of Link's travels through the portal. The portal would lead to the great volcanic existence of the Gorons, Goron City.

At first the heat seemed almost too much for the two sages, but after a short while, they began to adjust to the heat that the Gorons called home. From the stories Link told, they quickly located Darunia's chamber, but found it empty. They thought it strange that he was not in his chambers, because he was in there so often as the figurehead of the Gorons.

Once the puzzled two exited the chambers, they were confronted by Darunia's son, Link (the Goron). Seeing their confused expressions, he decided to give them whatever helpful information he could. After greeting them both, he asked them, "What are you doing here?"

Zelda responded, "We're looking for your father. Could you help us find him?"

The Goron smiled, but said, "I had a feeling you'd be looking for him. However, he's very busy at the moment and can't be disturbed without good reason."

Saria, very adamant about this venture, said, "It is a very good reason. We're trying to gather the other six sages to give Link the ultimate Sages' Shield to protect him until he wakes up."

This Link's eyes opened wide and inquired, "What happened to the Link I was named for?"

Zelda regretfully informed him, "He's under some kind of strange illness, something I've never seen before. The only way to protect him while Ganondorf roams the land is with the help of the other sages."

The Goron nodded, and told them, "He's in the Fire Temple, again."

The two sages thanked him and ventured back into Darunia's chamber and pushed the statue in back to the left of the opening. Death Mountain Crater's immense heat was almost choking them. They knew that if they could get past the broken bridge, they could get in the Fire Temple.

Though the two had agreed not to use warping magic, Zelda knew that the only way to get to the Fire Temple otherwise would be to use protective magic. Using her Nayru's Love spell, Zelda initiated a glowing blue shield around the two sages. Under that protection, they managed to reach the Fire Temple, hoping they could find Darunia.


	3. Fire and Shadow

When they entered the Fire Temple, the Nayru's Love spell ran out of power, as Zelda no longer needed to use it. Climbing the stairs and avoiding the flaming Keese, the two sages took the left door, as that was the door that Link had said that he found Darunia in upon his first venture into the Fire Temple.

As they entered the sweltering chamber, Saria nearly passed out as a result of the immense heat. One could literally taste the heat in the air, and it nearly burned the tongue. On one of the elevated platforms above the lava-laden chamber stood Darunia with a bit of a surprised look upon his face. Knowing that the Fire Temple wasn't the best place for those who were not Gorons, Darunia motioned for Zelda and Saria to venture back into his chambers.

Once back in Darunia's chambers in Goron City, Zelda and Saria explained the situation at hand to Darunia, who was greatly surprised by the news. Wishing to do all he could, Darunia immediately traveled back to Kokiri Forest to add his protection to the Sages' Shield.

When he saw Link in the condition he was in, albeit Link was doing slightly better, Darunia couldn't help but be on the verge of tears for the state that he found his "Sworn Brother" in; nobody, especially Link, deserved to be in such a state. Link's breathing was still very shallow and, if one felt his head, his fever was still very high. The slight progress Link had made in the past few days was some hope to Zelda, but she still knew that he had a long way to go until he would be back to consciousness, let alone being back in form.

However, with Ganondorf still lurking around for Link's location, escape seemed almost impossible. The three sages who had given their energy to the shield knew that Ganondorf could be anywhere, looking to destroy Link while he was finally weakened. If he could get to Link before the shield was completed or before Link was healed enough to fight, it seemed that no one could do anything to stop him. Time was definitely against them, but they would not stop in their efforts to save the noble hero who had saved them all in the past.

The next logical step for the sages would be to choose one of two different paths to find the fourth sage willing to help. Either they could again venture to Goron City and travel down Death Mountain to Kakariko Village to try and find Impa (Sage of Shadow), or the sages could use the warp in Kokiri Forest to venture just outside Zora's Domain and use that warp to find the Zora princess, Ruto (Sage of Water).

As the leader of the seven total sages, Zelda decided to split the group of sages into two groups: Darunia with Saria as one group and herself alone as the other. Darunia and Saria would take the Death Mountain path to Impa while Zelda would travel to Zora's Domain to convince the Zora princess for help. When the two other sages approached the Goron City warp, Zelda bade them goodbye and good luck.

As she approached the watery pathway to Zora's Domain, Zelda sighed. This attempt to protect Link, as good an idea as it was, didn't seem to be enough to be able to stop Ganondorf. If Link were to be captured by the Gerudo king, she didn't know what she'd be able to do.

After that moment of reflection, Zelda shook her head and dove headfirst into the chilly water that would take her to the waterfall in Zora's River. Determined, she proceeded and readied herself to convince another sage to join her cause.

By this time, Saria and Darunia had reached Kakariko Village due to Darunia rolling down the hill like a wheel with Saria somehow able to stay on top of him as they continued to pick up speed going downhill with increasing velocity. Once again, the quaint little town had been flooded with the excess of people from Castle Town after Ganondorf had conquered the small town bordering Hyrule Castle.

Through the crowd, the two sages (that stuck out like sore thumbs) made their way to Impa's little home. The home was but a simple one with limited furniture, yet it still carried the feeling of a home. Luckily, Impa was home this time, as opposed to her usual habit of being away from home.

Seeing Saria and Darunia, the Sage of Shadow shook her head, asking the two, "What are you doing here?"

Figuring she could appeal to Impa more, Saria said, "There's something terribly wrong with Link. You've got to help us with him."

"What happened to Link," Impa impulsively asked with concern apparent in her voice.

Darunia decided to answer this one, saying, "We don't know what happened to him, but we know that he's suffering from something and that maybe a Sages' Shield will be able to protect him."

Knowing of what a Sages' Shield was, in contrast to most sages; Impa nodded and asked but one simple question, "Where is he at the moment?"

Both of the sages quickly responded, "The Kokiri Forest."

Impa told both of them, "Good. I'll meet you there soon." Immediately afterwards, she threw something at the ground and disappeared, on her way to the forest.

Saria and Darunia returned to Kokiri Forest just in time to see Impa putting the finishing touches on her portion of the Sages' Shield. With the power of more than half of the sages, the protection offered to Link seemed to be somewhat promising.

While it seemed easy for the Sage of Forest and the Sage of Fire to effectively gather their sage, Zelda met with some difficulty and hostility on the part of Princess Ruto.


	4. Water and Spirit

When Zelda had first told Ruto that she needed to see Link, the fishlike princess seemed intrigued and somewhat excited to see the Hero of Time, but when Zelda explained that this visit was not intended to be a social visit, Ruto became suspicious and standoffish.

She started, "…What do you mean that this isn't a social visit with Link? What's really going on, Zelda?"

"Well," the Hylian princess began, "the truth is that Link isn't doing too well right now. None of us know what's going on with him, but we know that we've got to protect him from Ganondorf."

Ruto suddenly turned deathly pale, "What do you mean 'protect him from Ganondorf?' Don't tell me that he's back."

Zelda sighed before continuing, "I wish I could say that it was an illusion, but I know he's back. I fought against him for a moment before seizing Link and running off to the forest. Until he's back to health, we need to protect him with a Sages' Shield. Please tell me that you know what that is."

"Of course I know what a Sages' Shield is," Ruto added confidently.

Nearly begging, Zelda asked, "So then are you going to help him?"

Ruto still remained somewhat wary of going with Zelda. "I don't know," she said, "Ganondorf's out there, and he could get me at any moment."

Finally having had her fill of Ruto's lack of mettle, Zelda retorted, "And kind of target do you think I am? I'm the princess of Hyrule, and the holder of the Triforce of Wisdom. If Ganondorf's going to come after one of us, it's going to be me, and you know it."

Realizing that Zelda was taking the bigger risk (by far), Ruto decided to venture to Kokiri Forest after all. Taking the warp from just outside Zora's Domain, the two princesses made their way to Link's humble forest home.

When she saw the state that he was in, Ruto really understood why such a drastic measure as the Sages' Shield was necessary for Link. Truly, he had gotten no better since the last time, and he still had no way to defend himself. With the help of the Sage of Water, the shield had attained the fifth sage, meaning that only the King of Evil himself could break Link from the shield (forcefully).

Now Zelda set off on the most ambitious part of her quest of trying to gather sages to protect Link. She intended to gather both the sages of Spirit and Light: Nabooru and Rauru, respectively.

As before, Zelda said that she wouldn't use any warping magic in order to find the two sages she needed. Knowing the trip to be an especially long one to Gerudo Valley, Zelda decided to use two shortcuts to find her way to the desert expanses of Hyrule. Taking the warp to Zora's Domain and the one in there to Lake Hylia, Zelda emerged from the waters.

After shaking herself off and making sure that it was nighttime, Zelda did her best to quickly trek up the beaten path to venture to the desert. Luckily, she made it to Gerudo Valley without a hitch, traveling quickly and quietly.

Crossing the bridge that would lead to the Gerudo's Fortress, Zelda hoped that she would not encounter Ganondorf in the realm that he once called his home. She felt that if she could find her way to Nabooru, she could gather the fleet-footed Gerudo sage for her help with Link's protection.

As fate would have it, Zelda did not meet with Ganondorf in her ventures through Gerudo's Fortress, but it seemed that she would have to venture further out into the desert to find the Sage of Spirit. As she was asking around, looking for the leader of the desert-friendly Gerudo women, Zelda was informed that Nabooru was in her previous headquarters of the Spirit Temple.

Hearing this news, Zelda wished she could risk the power of warping magic, but she knew that she'd have to brave the dangers of the Haunted Wasteland and the Desert Colossus in order to save Link; after all, he'd faced those same dangers in his attempts to save her.

After finally making her way to the Spirit Temple, Zelda found that Nabooru was waiting in the entrance of the temple, seemingly contemplating what was going on in the world of Hyrule at the time. When Zelda walked in, the leader of the Gerudo Thieves immediately noticed the presence of another in her domain and looked up inquisitively. Realizing that the new presence was that of Zelda, the Gerudo relaxed and waited to hear what Zelda had to say.

As she had done with other sages in the past, Zelda explained the situation that she found Link in, but felt she could bear all details in her explanation to Nabooru, because she knew that the desert woman had endured many things throughout her existence.

Hearing the explanation that Zelda had portrayed of Link's condition and considering how close she was to success with this plan of hers, Nabooru quickly agreed to do her part to protect Link from Ganondorf. With the help of the Sage of Spirit, Zelda knew that the only one who remained to complete the Sages' Shield was Rauru. Unfortunately, he also happened to be located in the most dangerous location, considering its proximity to the center of Ganondorf's forces.


	5. Is Light in Time?

Remembering to wait for nightfall, Zelda again set out into Hyrule Field, growing more anxious and nervous by the second. If she could manage to successfully attain Rauru's power to the Sages' Shield, then it would complete, and Hyrule could wait for Link to recover from whatever ailed him. However, if she were to be caught, especially by Ganondorf, all hopes at rescuing Hyrule were for naught; everything rested on the princess.

Ominously, it was raining heavily in Hyrule that evening, only adding to the cold in the air caused by Ganondorf having returned again. Still, the princess trudged along, hoping to remain hidden by the edges of wall and rocks, truly doubting her sneaking skills. The only problem with Zelda's problem became apparent to her as she approached Hyrule Castle Town: the bridge was supposed to be up. Yet, much to her surprise, Zelda found that the bridge separating the castle from the rest of the world was indeed lowered, even in the middle of the night.

Somewhat more cautiously, Zelda crossed over the bridge, doing everything in her power to avoid making a sound. If any of Ganondorf's minions heard her, they were liable to attack, and Zelda did not seem very confident in her combative abilities; even when she'd tried, she found she couldn't keep up with Link. She felt that if she couldn't keep up with Link, then she would have no chance against Ganondorf (because an attack on one of his minions would eventually lead to a fight with him).

Meticulously, she made her way down the cold stone chamber, feeling the water of the small puddles beneath her feet. After making it to the central square, she quickly stole away to the path on her right, leading her directly to the Temple of Time, the one place she knew where to find Rauru.

Once she was inside that sanctuary, Zelda shook her wet hair to dry it a little bit. Then, continuing to breathe shallowly, Zelda walked silently over to the Door of Time. Since she was one of the sages, she did not need to open the Door of Time with the Song of Time. Instead, she passed through the door, making sure to seal it behind her as soon as she had passed through its frame.

Ascending slowly up the carved stone steps, Zelda stood over the Pedestal of Time, quickly noting that the Master Sword was planted within it, meaning that Link had not disturbed it since he had been returned to his past. Instead of dwelling on the mighty blade, Zelda turned her head upwards and called out softly, "Rauru, are you there?"

In a volume louder than she expected, Zelda received the reply, "Yes, I am, Princess Zelda."

Before Rauru could ask a question, Zelda nearly shrieked in her quiet tone, "Rauru, don't speak so loudly; you might blow my cover."

Speaking confidently and clearly, Rauru said, "You need not worry, Zelda. Ganondorf is not here, nor are his minions competent enough to enter through the Door of Time."

Still choosing to keep her quiet tone, Zelda asked, "Rauru, since you're an ancient sage, do you know what a Sages' Shield is?"

"Yes. Why do you want to know?"

"I need one last sage to complete this shield; that one is you. Can you do it? Link badly needs our protection from Ganondorf."

"I will, princess. If I can successfully implement the last barrier from Ganondorf, then we will have an ultimate success."

"Thank you," Zelda said, finally returning to her normal volume.

Meanwhile, Ganondorf entered Kokiri Forest, finally believing he had found the place where Link was. He had no direct evidence that Link would be found in the forest, but he felt that if he were to be hidden, the forest would be the most likely place to try and hide the Hero of Time. As he stepped foot inside the forest for the first time in many years, Ganondorf's presence seemed to slowly decay the fragile plants on the frontier of the forest.

With a powerfully wicked scowl on his face, the wet desert man deliberately stepped powerfully into Kokiri Forest, wishing to make his unmatched presence known to all who could withstand it. He was as fearsome as he had ever been in his greatest moment of power: it looked as if he'd murder anyone who got in his way with relative ease.

When he finally entered Link's tree home, he quickly saw the hero he had incapacitated. Reaching out to grab him, Ganondorf found that there was a barrier surrounding the fragile Hylian hero. Showing no patience for the barrier, Ganondorf brought his right fist backwards, then thrust it forwards and broke the barrier. Seeing the barrier shattered so easily, the King of Evil felt that he would have no true opposition now that the great defense the sages had been preparing (in anticipation of his power) no longer protected Link.

Then, grabbing him and throwing him over his right shoulder, Ganondorf exited Kokiri Forest, smirking sadistically. By the time he had made it back to his base in Hyrule Castle, he knew Link was further weakening; all the progress Link had made under the Sages' Shield was undone. Now, with their previous savior out of contention and in the hands of the evil that plagued the land, Hyrule stood, begging for someone to take up Link's slack.

Anxiously, Zelda made her way back to the forest, hoping to find Link protected by the completed Sages' Shield. However, when she entered Link's small abode, soused by the rain, she saw the Link had been taken. With the level the shield had achieved, she knew that only Ganondorf could be responsible for this. She had no idea of what she could do to try and stop Ganondorf now. Somewhat defeated, Zelda spread her arms out to their full length and turned her head skyward, tears mingling with the freezing rainwater upon her face. What could she do? What could Hyrule do?


	6. Zelda's Solution

Some time later, Zelda boldly entered Ganondorf's chamber, bearing a confident and resolved look on her face. Thrusting the wooden door to the large, circular room open, Zelda beheld Link, ironically in the same type of crystal that she was imprisoned within when she had been captured by Ganondorf beforehand.

There was just something about Zelda when she entered his chamber. She had shed her previous worry and fear; instead she embraced a cool calm demeanor. The way she entered showed that she was not about to let the mighty Ganondorf get to her; she had found her way to combat him. But, would that way be successful?

Ganondorf snickered; he didn't think that Zelda would stand a chance against him after her forces were so easily defeated by his. Somehow, Zelda remained fully confident in her own right, but it seemed her confidence was more of a quiet confidence from having some surprise waiting.

Tiring of waiting and ready for battle, Ganondorf quickly leapt at Zelda, throwing a fist at her. However, she threw herself to her right and rolled out of the way of Ganondorf. Confidently, she then kicked Ganondorf's unprotected side, made open by the reckless lunge.

For a moment, Ganondorf stopped fighting to see what had happened to his side, but he brushed off the kick as nothing more than minute damage. Growling, he realized that Zelda would take more than the tactics he would take to fight a common beast. Instead, she might be worthy of tactics he would use to fight against Link.

Trying to take his opponent by surprise, the King of Evil raised his hands and formed a lightning sphere of energy. Throwing it quickly, he hoped that the attack would be able to strike Zelda, but she solemnly ducked and avoided the blast. Then, in retaliation, she leapt into the air and delivered a powerful uppercut that connected to Ganondorf's jaw.

Ganondorf grew frustrated and nearly yelled in frustration from not having delivered damage to Zelda while she had successfully attacked him twice. Resorting to a new tactic, the desert man drew a long blade of fine quality from behind his back. Showing a newfound ability with the blade, he leapt at Zelda and delivered a number of lightning-quick swipes and slashes.

Zelda leapt to the left and the right to avoid most of Ganondorf's attacks, but to block the last attack she drew a blade of her own to counter it. When he got a good look at it, Ganondorf realized that Zelda had indeed drawn the powerful Master Sword from behind her back.

Taking some retaliation, Zelda leapt after Ganondorf and then attacked him with the powerful Master Sword, piercing him with a goodness that was a direct opposite of his darkness. The powerful sword's small wounds stung like a great wasp's barbs. In a moment of hopeful energy, Ganondorf tried to grab the Master Sword, and he threw it off to the side after grasping the blade itself.

For a moment, Ganondorf licked his hand to try and stop the blood flowing from his largest and most painful wound. Though he was able to stop the flow, the desert man was definitely down to the use of only one of his hands, but that would be all he would need to defeat Zelda. Striking with a quick swing aimed at Zelda's face, Ganondorf put all the power he had behind his sword.

Much to his surprise, the sword, not Zelda's face, took the brunt of the damage. In fact, the power of the swing broke the sword in two. Ganondorf was flabbergasted when he saw that his sword was broken, but it seemed to make more sense when he saw that Zelda was protected by a glowing yellow shield. The Sages' Shield had made its triumphant return at its true strength; nothing could pierce it.

Reaching down, Zelda grabbed the Master Sword again. When she had the legendary blade in her hands, she firmly grasped it and then swung it at a stunned Ganondorf, who had no chance of dodging the blow. The blow opened up another large wound, allowing even more blood to seep from him. The loss of blood had weakened Ganondorf too much for him to continue fighting; Zelda had effectively rendered him unconscious and had therefore defeated him.

Transforming the Sages' Shield into a blast of energy, Zelda again sealed Ganondorf into the Sacred Realm. As the evil king was sealed away, the crystal containing Link descended from the sky, and he subsequently woke up, seemingly at full strength.

"Zelda," he said rubbing his head, "What happened to me while I was out?"

"Don't worry about it, Link. I'll have plenty of time to explain it later."

Noticing the Master Sword, Link asked, "How'd you get that?"

Zelda smiled. "You left it out; you never really sealed it in the Pedestal of Time, so I picked it up."

Confusedly, Link asked, "I did? I swore I put it back in there."

She eyed the ceiling for a moment and then said, "That doesn't matter anyway. What does matter is that Ganondorf is gone again, and we've got his mess to clean up. Are you going to join me, Link?"

"What kind of hero would I be if I didn't do such a thing?"

"I don't know, but I might not have tried to protect you with as much effort."

"I've got to give it to you Zelda; you're a much better fighter than I ever gave you credit for." Jokingly, he added, "Maybe I should take it easy the next time a disaster comes to Hyrule."

"If you do that, you'll end up back in that crystal."

He smiled, knowing she wasn't completely serious. "Well then, why not get to work?"


End file.
